E3 08: Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness

The second new Harvest Moon game Natsume is releasing to commemorate the series' 10 year anniversary is Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness for the Nintendo DS. In this version of Harvest Moon, you are situated on a deserted island that's lost all of its inhabitants. Naturally it's your task to grow your farm by tending to your plants and animals. By doing so you'll create a fertile environment and eventually entice people to move back onto the island.

Once the island regains its popularity you can collaborate with other residents to ship off your crops, compete in festivals, and mine for precious gems. More folks in town also means more choices for single mates to marry, so keeping your town in shape is essential. Town quality is also always monitored by a status percentage, giving the player extra initiative to reach the ultimate perfection at 100%.

Finally with the DS capabilities, Island of Happiness orients your chores around actions with the stylus, such as pulling out vegetables or petting your farm animals. Wifi capabilities also enable users to compete with each other based on their stats to compete for special items. Altogether Island of Happiness seems like a colorful and entertaining addition to the Harvest Moon series with plenty of rich potential for play. Gamers can expect it to release on August 26, the same date as Natsume's other celebratory release, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility.